The DI and I
by Tess 4 5
Summary: NOW WITH SEQUEL! Pizza and beer and a heart-breaking film on TV. That's all she had wanted. She almost got it. A short story.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's usual notes and disclaimer:** I don't own any of the original characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC. I have borrowed the characters from the TV-Show and solely own the ideas of _my_ stories and the developments _I've_ let them go through.

Please write a **P** rivate **M** essage if I did something terribly wrong so I can fix it. Thanks!

Please read and review! More thanks!

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 **Author's note and summary:** Pizza and beer and a heart-breaking film on TV. That's all she had wanted. She almost got it.

This is just a quickly written short story. Enjoy...

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 **The DI and I**

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Barbara sniffled. Annoyed that she had to move away from the comfortable spot on her sofa she bent over the arm rest letting her eyes scan the floor. She finally found the box with the tissues that had fallen behind the small side table, blew her nose and wiped her eyes.

There was a knock at her door but she ignored it at first. It was her first day off, a couple of days after they had closed the file on the Thompson case. The appointment at court had gone well, the judge had decided the verdict, and now she only was in real need of peace and quietness and stupid heart-breaking films on TV. And no disturbing distraction from other certain people.

"Ah, bullshit!" she answered the second louder knock. Half an hour ago she had ordered a pizza. If she would not open the door she would go to bed hungry and Chicho, the cute delivery boy, would go home disappointed. The only thing she needed now was her purse. She opened the door looking into the pockets of the coat that was hanging at the hook next to it. "I'm sorry, Chicho, still looking for my pur-"

"Chicho?" an amused voice asked her. It definitely was not the delivery boy's voice.

Barbara blanched and halted. Her head jerked up. "Sir!" Leaving the door open she quickly turned. He should not see her red eyes. "Come in. What brings you here? I thought you'd be in Howenstow already..."

Tommy Lynley closed the door behind him and placed his coat on the single hook next to the door. "No, I'll leave tomorrow morning. I just thought I'd come around to say good-bye. I've brought a six-pack and seeing you already in your sweat pants I don't think you'd be interested in the other option of going to the pub for a pint?"

Now that her sofa was finally tidied so her boss could sit Barbara turned. She looked into a broad smile that instantly died. With one stride he was right in front of her holding her upper arms in a gentle grip. "Barbara, you've been crying!?"

She answered with a nervous laugh and pointed with her chin towards the TV screen. The final credits with pompous string orchestra music still were running. "I've just... watched a film... please sit down. D'you need a glass for your beer?"

Barbara hurried into the kitchen just to get away from his alluringly smelling chest. _Not now!_ she thought. After that film she felt too fragile to withstand his scent. She put four of the beers into the fridge when her doorbell rang.

"It's my pizza, Sir, could you open the door please? I'm still looking for my purse..." Barbara shouted through her flat.

She found the purse in the plastic bag she had used for her grocery shopping earlier. Out of sheer laziness she later had opted for delivered dinner. And she had wanted to enjoy that film.

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"Were you expecting guests?" Tommy asked when he placed the huge pizza box on the worktop. He already had paid and Chicho had left.

"Haha, no... I just like to have cold leftovers the next day. You want some?"

"Just a slice. I've already had dinner." He watched her while she rummaged through the kitchen, getting plates and paper napkins. She even tried to balance the beer bottles to her coffee table but here Tommy intervened. "Oh, heavens, Barbara. Just let me help you."

She nervously chuckled. "Of course."

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"So? You've planned to leave tomorrow?" she asked when they had settled down. Her boss nodded. "Any plans, apart from sorting out things of the estate?"

"Ah, well..." Tommy leaned back. Barbara still was chewing at her second slice of pizza. "Go riding, nurse my grand niece, get annoyed by mother's attempts to make me join social events, let the Cornish wind ruffle my hair..."

The TV was muted, Barbara still ate and she had her back turned to him. He watched her nape suddenly turn rosy.

She had felt her face heaten up at the thought of him standing at the cliffs and watching out across the sea, the wind playing with his hair. He should not look at her now so she intensely chewed the pizza and kept her face away from him.

"...maybe go skinny dipping..." he casually continued.

Although her face flushed even more Barbara snorted a laugh and her chuckles made it hard to keep focus on her dinner. The rosy touch of the skin in her back had turned on a deeper red colour and Tommy enjoyed thinking that she might have some indecent thoughts about him. Thoughts he had about her sometimes. Forbidden thoughts. Strictly forbidden thoughts that could not keep him from teasing her now.

"You could come with me."

Barbara choked on her pizza. When the soft pats on her back had worked and she was able to breathe again she harrumphed once more before she asked "Skinny dipping?!"

Tommy laughed. "No. Well, yes, if you'd want to you could even come skinny dipping with me."

 _You have no idea!_ she thought.

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"Actually I've meant you could still come with me to Howenstow. We could join mother's events together. Or avoid them together." he added after he had seen her shoulders shake with a disbelieving laugh.

"No, Sir." Barbara swallowed down the last bit of her slice and got up to put away the dishes. She called from the kitchen that it was a nice offer. "But I'll stay here in London and enjoy two lazy weeks. No case, no office, no pesky boss..."

"I'm not pesky!" Tommy called from the lounge area.

"Ah..." For a short moment Barbara leaned against the doorframe and watched him. Tommy held her gaze. She knew she was going to miss him tomorrow already but there was no way she could accompany him at his Cornish manor. She could not think of any excuse to spend that time with him. Their close friendship was the reason for her to attend an anniversary there or a garden party but without a real event there she could not simply come with him. Returning to her coffee table she sat down next to him on the sofa. She really should buy a new armchair soon.

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The TV still was muted but neither of them made a move to switch on the volume. There was some news show running at the moment. For a while both were silent.

"What have you been watching earlier?"

"Huh?"

"What have you seen that has made you cry?"

"Oh, that... It's nothing. Don't worry."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "I understand that it was only a film. Sometimes films do just that. I'd only like to know what film disturbs you so much."

"Anna and the King." Barbara quietly murmured. "With Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. I know, it's stupid..."

"It's not stupid to cry when something's touching you."

"Mh, yah, well... It's just... No, in fact it's a silly thing crying about it but... You know, the last scene with them dancing, when the voice-over tells us that this was the last time Mongkut has held the woman he loved... If I've not started by then I definitely cry with that last scene." Barbara dared not look at him. She was not silly sixteen anymore. A grown-up woman of her age should not be crying because of some romance on TV. Tommy probably was silently laughing.

"You love that film, don't you?" His voice did not at all sound mocking. In fact it was soft and understanding somehow. "I've read the book."

" _Of course_ you have, your Lordship." Barbara teased him.

"Of course I've also seen the film. I've been to the premiere here in London. I've met Jodie Fost- What?" Tommy stopped when he saw Barbara's raised eybrows. She had turned to him while he talked. He had not wanted to sound pretentious. "Sorry. I didn't mean to swagger."

"It's okay." _It's a part of your life._

Barbara returned her attention to the silent TV.

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After a sip from his bottle Tommy went on. "You seem to have watched it one or the other time."

"I've seen it too often and it always breaks my heart." Barbara confessed. She finished her beer. Then she turned her head and gave him a lopsided grin. "Like a stupid teenager."

"Well, it has some sort of sad ending, I admit."

For a while they watched the beginning of another 90s film on the Gold Channel. Whitney Houston was just talking to Kevin Costner but the sound still was turned off. Barbara was the first to speak again.

"When I was younger," she said unaffected by the new film. "I always had hoped there will be a sequel or a new film with them getting together in the end. Ignoring the bit of reality it contains. Now that I'm older I know there never would have been. With all their differences, the completely different universes they're from. They never would become one."

Barbara felt as if Tommy would sense that she in some way was talking about her own feelings. She hoped he would not. It was stupid. Throughout all these years they had been working together she had at first only seen what he seemed to be - the 8th Earl of Asherton, the snobbish police man who had climbed the ladder too fast, her superiour. Later she had found herself having a crush on him because everything he was he actually was. Just not in the negative way. He was kind, he was caring, he was fair and hard working. Plus he had suffered from a whole bunch of tragedies in his life. Her crush had turned into the loving hope that despite the differences there might be a chance for him recognising her as a woman but eventually Barbara had learned to accept that they were more than working partners, really close friends in fact, but the differences still could not be denied. There was no chance he would ever see her as socially equal. There never would be a happy ending for them.

"Well..." Tommy said. "Maybe they should make a movie playing in the present. Adapt the theme and re-write the ending. Nowadays these social differences aren't important anymore."

"Oh, they are." Barbara sighed and turned on the TV volume. "More than they should."

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The next beer was shared in silence. With Barbara using the remote control she had ended the conversation about a topic she would not want to discuss here and now but the film was unbearable so eventually she switched to the other channel where at almost any time you could be sure to see a Big Bang Theory episode. It definitely lightened their unfamiliar mood. They laughed and poked each other's ribs, giggling about some characters showing resemblances to colleagues.

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"I have to go now." After they had finished a third beer Tommy got up, wished her two nice calm weeks and promised to call her. "I've announced myself for lunch and mother would not approve of me being late." he winked while he put on his coat. "See you later, Barbara."

Standing in the door he turned and bent down to give her a peck on her cheek. "When you change your mind you're always welcome at the old pile."

Then he left.

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Instead of drinking another beer and watching another well-known episode of the series Barbara got ready for bed. After she had closed her door she immediately had turned off the TV. His voice and his scent still lingered in her ear and nose and the sizzling feeling of his lips still tickled her cheek. She wanted to keep these memories of him as long as possible and take them into sleep with her.

She put on her pyjama bottoms and an old police T-shirt and hurried through her evening routine. She went to the toilet, brushed her teeth and washed her face. Over the rim of a towel her eyes locked with her reflection's in the mirror above the sink. All the time she had the unreachable on her mind.

"It's just like in the film, old girl. Just forget it." she murmured before she tossed the towel into the basket, turned off the lights and went to go to her bedroom. A knock at the main door made her jump. It was almost midnight - she could not at all imagine who this could be. Carefully she peeped through the hole before she opened the door with a quizzical expression.

"Did you forget something, Sir?"

"Indeed I have." he replied. Tommy pushed past her and closed the door behind him before he turned to face her. "Let's re-write the ending, Barbara!"

"Pardon?" Surprised by him pulling her into an embrace she looked into two affectionate dark eyes. Her voice trembled. "Sir?"

"Don't Sir me." Tommy softly growled. "I'm Tommy. And I want to have a happy ending too."

"Sir, I'mmmh..." His firm lips on hers made it impossible to say anything else. The second of surprise stretched without a reaction. Barbara stood stiffly but moulded against him. And she did not fight him. Nonetheless Tommy let go of her lips to read her eyes. They would tell him the truth whatever Barbara would say or do. Her eyes would not lie to him.

His concerns were unnecessary. Apart from a little shock there only was approval and love shining in her eyes.

"Tommy..." was all she could whisper before their lips met again. This time she answered his nudges with all the love she had treasured up for years.

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They were late for lunch the next day.

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hehehe - I have a sequel ;-) Enjoy...

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 **What happened while she brushed her teeth?**

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The door behind him closed without a sound. It was not too late but still Barbara had tried to be as silent as she could. Tommy paused for a moment at her doormat before he turned and left. Something felt wrong. He had not wanted to leave. In fact he had wanted to stay for the night but there was his appointment for lunch the next day so he had said good bye to her. And she had made no real advances to hold him back. It had been a wonderful evening with pizza and beer and some telly but that obviously had been enough for Barbara. She surely would not want him to stay for the night.

Tommy opened the door of his classic car and climbed in. He fastened the seat-belt and plugged the key in its lock but he did not start the engine yet. His mind had started to wander to his manor in Cornwall and it was with her. Short images of them walking the coast flickered through his mind, and them in the stables, and them skinny dipping. At that point he felt something inappropriate tickling his stomach. It made him blush a bit and drive away from the kerb where he had parked his car. He had to get away from here or he would get out of the car and return to Barbara to say or do something that would test her patience with him. Maybe it even would shock her so much she would send him away immediately and probably forever.

No, he decided driving down the small lane, their friendship was too precious and she would not do that but in fact Tommy would not risk it. Also there still were some things to pack for his stay in Cornwall and the new contract for one of his tenants still needed a quick glance-over. Apart from that there was not much to do for the estate this time. He would have too much time to think and brood, walk alone and miss her.

His car turned into the road that would bring him to his cold and lonely home. He already missed her now.

It still felt bold that he had bent down to her and kissed her goodbye, even if it only was on the cheek, but Barbara's scent still lingered in his nose. Tomorrow it would be gone but for now it soothed and agitated him all at once. He should not go to bed tonight, Tommy thought, so he could enjoy this feeling as long as possible. Only he would be horribly tired when he would get on the road to Cornwall. When he would return to Barbara now he would be able to enjoy it the entire night and still get some sleep.

"That's impossible, stupid bloke!" Tommy murmured watching a streetlight shining red. Even if Barbara would let him into her flat, and he knew she would not let him stand outside her door, she never would let him into her bedroom. By the way, these thoughts were too straightforward anyway. They had not even kissed yet. And knowing his spiky little Sergeant that would never happen. He was her boss, he was not at all her type of men. Above all she disliked his lot a lot. Not all of them of course, she was getting along with his family quite well, but her usual words describing the upper class people were nothing he would repeat aloud.

If these differences would not exist they maybe would have a chance. As much as he racked his brain, Tommy was not even aware that these differences still were there. They had come so close they did not matter anymore, or so he thought. What had she said when he had tried to tell her that the social differences were not important anymore? 'They are.' she had said, and: 'More than they should.'

A horn honked him onward. He had been so distracted by thoughts that he had not recognised another red light turning green. At the next opportunity he turned into a smaller street and stopped his car at the kerb. As long as his mind was preoccupied by the memories of Barbara Tommy was a danger for London's traffic. He turned off the engine and stared down the dimly lit row of houses.

Barbara had sounded sad and defeated somehow when she had told him that the differences still were there more than they should. More than they should. Did that mean she would want the differences between them to disappear?

Quite a while ago Tommy had given up hope to ever get closer to Barbara, to ever find the right moment to tell her that he actually had fallen in love with her. He was a coward concerning this. What he felt for Barbara felt so different to what he ever had felt for another woman. Not that he had not loved before. He had. Only this time it felt deeper and somehow steadier, stronger and so very different. And after years of being friends he had not the guts to make the next step that would definitely change their lifes. She probably would not want that. Barbara probably would not want to be a part of his upper class lot. She definitely would not want to become his countess.

If she felt for him what he felt for her at all, that is. The words she had said still echoed in his mind.

"More than they should." Tommy whispered. But despite all differences they had spent a wonderful, easy evening. Comfortably enjoying each other's presence and a silly show on TV. Sipping a beer together and having fun. For a brief moment they even had cuddled on her sofa. He had put his arm around Barbara's shoulder while they had laughed and she had placed her hand onto his belly. He had wanted to pull her closer in that moment and kiss her. When their laughs had died they had stayed like that for a few more silent seconds. For him they could have stayed like that for the rest of the night. It was just that eventually Barbara had gone to get another beer. She had not looked at him when she had asked if he also wanted one more but if he remembered her face now he remembered a nervous smile and a light rosy touch. And when she had handed him his bottle her hand had trembled. When their fingers had brushed she had harrumphed and sitting down next to him she had kept her eyes forcibly focussed on the TV screen.

Tommy still could kick his ass for not pulling her back against his chest. He had not dared to in case she would disapprove but he would never find out if she really would have disapproved.

He never would find out at all if he would not do something.

Yes, he had to change something. This was not their 'The DI and I' where they never would get together. He wanted a happy ending for them. They had come so close, it actually was obvious that there is more than friendship, even to him it was obvious, wasn't it?

Someone just had to make that final step. What would they lose? They were grown-ups. If he was wrong they could talk about it but at least he would have told her.

Tommy started the engine and turned his car in the next driveway. He would drive back to her flat. He would drive back to Barbara. He ignored - at least a bit - the speed limit on the main road. He had to get to her as soon as possible. He would change the end of their film. They were going to have a happy ending.

In his enthusiasm he stopped the car a second too late so the left front tyre jolted onto the kerbstone before he jumped out of the driver side door with a grin.

"Mh-hm-hmmm..." he happily hummed, his elated feet taking the three small steps in the middle of the way through the green in the front garden with one giant leap, before he started to hesitate again. Then he shook his head. "No, Tommy. You'll follow through with this."

In that moment he reached her door and raised his hand to knock. He stopped again, his hand hovering above the wood. Blood rushed loud through his ears. His heart was beating heavy against his rib cage. Tommy absolutely had no idea what he should say.

Tommy's eyes fell onto his wrist watch. He quietly whistled through his teeth. It was late, he probably woke her up but that did not really matter. Another broad smile appeared on his face when he finally knocked at her door. He had to tell her and he had to tell her now.

He knew it was not too late for their happy ending. Although Tommy still did not know what exactly he would tell Barbara he knew very well that he would re-write the ending of this evening with her.

The door opened. Surprised eyes welcomed him.

"Did you forget something, Sir?"

"Indeed I have."

Tommy deeply breathed before he stepped over Barbara's threshold.

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